With the potential to substantially reduce painful and invasive biopsies, the world-first liquid biopsy will help monitor the blood for tiny
fragments of DNA released from cancer cells. It will give doctors regular,
precise insights into a person’s disease, allowing for more effective and
personalised targeted therapies.

At the heart of Prof.
Dawson and A/Prof. Dawson’s progress are Leukaemia Foundation supporters who
have provided these ground-breaking researchers and their dedicated team with critical
funding over the past five years.

This powerful combination
has achieved a world-first discovery which will have a truly profound impact on
more than 60,000 Australians who are currently living with a blood cancer
diagnosis and ensure every individual is receiving personalised treatment for
their disease.

Prof. Dawson hopes that Leukaemia
Foundation supporters will feel proud for having supported this work.

“As clinicians we see every day the adversity
caused by cancer,” said Prof. Dawson. “The fact that Leukaemia Foundation
supporters use this personal experience as an inspiration to fund cancer
research to improve the outcome of others who may be unrelated to them is a
testament to how important the task at hand is.”

Prof. Dawson says the development of the
liquid biopsy was built on a large body of work pioneered by A/Prof. Sarah-Jane
Dawson and an amazing multi-disciplinary team of researchers who are fearless
in their pursuit of knowledge – working to achieve results that can only be gained
through collaboration.

“We realise our responsibility in using community
donations to develop new and improved ways to diagnose, monitor and treat
cancer,” said Prof. Dawson “Our team pursues difficult tasks that hold the
promise of making substantial changes to the natural history of some of our
worst cancers."

Prof. Dawson pointed out that support from
the Leukaemia Foundation has driven the basic research that ultimately
culminates in these discoveries.

“This development is an example of what our
team has been able to achieve and I will assure you that there is much more to
come,” he said.

Caroline Turnour, the Leukaemia Foundation’s General Manager,
Research, Advocacy & Services says patients want to live longer and with a
better quality of life.

“These new tests will ensure that patients will
receive more personalised treatment, not just what historically is known to
work for a disease,” she said. “This will mean less treatment-related
toxicity and more patient-driven clinical care.”

The Leukaemia Foundation is committed to improving
the lives of people living with blood cancers and this is a great example of
how our research programs are making a real difference.

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